Court: Alaska sex offender registry violates rights

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Supreme Court says the state’s sex offender registry violates offenders’ due process rights.

The court in a 3-2 decision says the registry provides no means for offenders to demonstrate that they’re not a threat to public safety.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the decision means offenders must be given an opportunity to prove they are rehabilitated.

The case involves a man convicted of sexual battery in Virginia.

The man moved to Alaska in January 2003.

His 2016 lawsuit claimed the state had no authority to require him to register in Alaska and that the Alaska law violated his due process rights.

Justices in the majority opinion say requiring a person convicted elsewhere to register is legal but offenders should be allowed to prove they no longer pose a public risk.